News hawker fights for his historic spot on a Seattle street

A downtown news stand formerly run by a legendary Seattle vendor could be nearing its end. But not without a fight.

Frank Turco sold newspapers from Seattle stands for nearly 50 years. Now, one of his stands might be in trouble. (P-I file)

News stands erected before 1977 are exempt from several city rules requiring permits to maintain them. The small, blue kiosk on the corner of Pike Street and Third Avenue was built in 1917 or 1919.

But because its owner, Benjamin Gant, hasn’t run it at least an hour and a half five days a week, Gant needs to get a permit – or get out of the way.

“We are trying to be understanding, but Mr. Gant needs to resolve the issue by requesting a permit to legally occupy the space,” said Rick Sheridan of the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Gant said in an e-mail he does plan to apply for a permit – just as soon as an engineer signs off on plans to renovate the dilapidated 6-by-6-foot kiosk.

The stand was once the hangout of celebrated newsboy activist Frank Turco, who served as president of the Seattle Newsboy Union and ran unsuccessfully for City Council in the 40s. Turco died in 1966 at the age of 87 after working nearly 50 years as a news vendor.

In Turco’s day, the stand carried a dozen Seattle newspapers. Gant, who is not contracted to sell the P-I or the Seattle Times, profits only from sales of $5 copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Most of the other publications he distributes are free.

Gant’s planned renovation would turn the blue-metal kiosk into a modern news stand. (Courtesy of Benjamin Gant)

Gant’s fight to save his newsstand started last year, when he first heard from the city that his stand violated several section of municipal city code. The Stranger wrote about his struggle in July. Today, Gant was featured in a story in the Los Angeles Times in which he said he plans to raise money for the stand and make it a memorial to Turco.

Sheridan said the Times story was the first the city had heard of any effort to memorialize the 6-by-6 space. Gant appealed the violations; one was dropped. A subsequent hearing upheld the other three.

The law would allow SDOT to collect penalties of up to $500 for every day Gant’s stand violates city code. But the city isn’t planning to do that, Sheridan said. For now, they’re just waiting for Gant’s next move.

“We’ve said all along we’re willing to give an application for a street-use permit fair consideration,” Sheridan said. “If a permit is not secured for the newsstand, the only action the city would take is to remove the illegal structure from the city’s right of way.”